Model-based optimization for operating the ethiopian renaissance dam on the blue Nile river / Ahmed Bahaa Eldin Mohamed ; Supervised Elsaied Ibrahim Gaber,Khaled Hussein Hamed,Abbas Mohamed Sharaky

Thesis (Ph.D.) - Cairo University - Institute of African Research and Studies - Department of Natural Resources

Egypt is located in an arid zone where rainfall is rare (no more than 15 mm/yr.), and more than 97% of the water supply of Egypt comes from the Nile River which originates outside its borders. The Blue Nile basin is the major watershed that contributes 58-62 % of the water that arrives at High Aswan Dam (HAD) lake. Although population growth, agricultural expansion, as well as industrial development and a rise in the standard of living press for additional water resources, the quota for withdrawal from the Nile River is fixed at 55.5 BCM since 1959. The upper Blue Nile basin contains a considerable untapped potential for irrigation and hydropower development and expansion. Definitely, the activities on the Blue Nile, such as dams and irrigation, would cause considerable changes in water arrival to Egypt in terms of quality, quantity, and could have significant impacts on Egypt's economic, social and environmental conditions. Ethiopia has proposed different plans and conducted studies for dam projects on the Blue Nile, but the storage capacity required for such large dams are much higher than the capability of the Blue Nile basin. Previous studies by the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR, 1964) and recently by the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) have identified a hydropower dam project on the Blue Nile at the Ethiopian-Sudanese border, with a storage volume of 14.5 BCM and 1,200 MW of hydropower

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